


Night Minds

by PerfectlyHopeless



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Drabble, F/M, after Champions of The Just
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-20
Updated: 2015-04-20
Packaged: 2018-03-25 00:41:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3790201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerfectlyHopeless/pseuds/PerfectlyHopeless
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Demons and mad Templars leave quite the mark on one's mind</p>
            </blockquote>





	Night Minds

**Author's Note:**

> Drabble starring Ellandra "Ellie" Trevelyan and Commander Handsome

* * *

_"Come on, Ellie!" My oldest brother yelled. "Keep up!"_

_I nearly collapsed to the ground I was so exhausted. "Aiden, slow down!" I begged, whining a little. "Can't you easy on me for once!?"_

_"Not a chance! Just think of it as training!"_

_"This isn't training, this is torture!" I wiped sweat from my brow, pushing my blonde hair back behind my ears. “I don't understand the point of this!"_

_"You're doing this so you don't have to end up as a Chantry Sister," Aiden said. He stopped running long enough for me to catch up and I collapsed to the ground beside him._

_"Sister Ellandra has a nice ring to it," my big sister, Melanie, teased from where she sat. "Think they'll give you over of those big fancy hats?"_

_I could feel my expression twist as Aiden tugged me up by the collar of my shirt. "Don't listen to her, Ellie," he told me. He met my gaze with a wicked smile on his face. "You'll join the Templars like me. Put your archery skills to use..."_

_The scene fades and no longer am I running around the courtyard. My siblings faded into Templars with bows and arrows, madness in their eyes. The arrow is pointed at me, I have to shoot first or he'll shoot me._

_The arrow flies through the air, striking me in the shoulder. I cry out in pain, but tear it out so I can keep fighting. I pull back on the string of my bow, sending an arrow flying towards him. It strikes him between the eyes and he falls to the floor._

_Varric tosses me a healing potion to alleviate the pain. I take it gratefully, drinking down the disgusting liquid so the magic can numb the pain._

_"It'll be okay, Ellie," he assures me. "Let's keep moving."_

_We push on, Barris and the other Templars breaking through the field that prevented us from reaching the demon. It burst into green sparks, the little lights fading quickly._

_"Go!'" the Templar shouts._

_I swallow down my fear and hitch an arrow on to my bowstring._

I woke up breathless. I coughed and choked on air before I could finally breathe normally. Clearing my throat, I stumbled across the room for the pitcher of water I'd gotten before I went to bed. I poured some in a glass and drank it down, my throat raw.

"Breathe," I told myself quietly, running a hand through my hair and pushing it away from my face. My gaze wandered around the little cabin, falling on my arms and armor.

"Time to get out of here," I thought out loud, pulling on my leathers and slinging my quiver over my shoulder.

Haven was quiet at night, the only noise to be heard at this hour was that of the soldiers in the tavern. Luckily for me that meant that "The Herald of Andraste" wasn't anyone's main concern, allowing me to slip away.

I climbed up the wall by the gate, knowing that opening the doors would be loud and draw an unnecessary amount of attention. It was easier this way.

The snow crunched beneath my boots as I ran, the cold air stinging my lungs. But I didn't care. I embraced that pain, letting it clear my mind.

I hitched an arrow on the bow string, pulling back and looking for a target of some kind. I saw movement from the corner of my eye and turned on my heel. What I saw before me was not a proper target.

“Don't shoot!" Commander Cullen exclaimed, holding his hands out in defense "Please, I didn't mean to frighten you!" I lowered my bow, placing the arrow back into my quiver.

“What are you doing out here?” I questioned.

“I could ask you the same thing.” He folded his arms over his chest, looking at me expectantly. "I saw you scale the walls by the gate, I only wanted to find out where you going. Then you nearly shot me. What happened?"

A lump formed in my throat. How was I supposed to admit that a nightmare had sent me running?

“I… I’d rather not talk about it,” I said, looking away.

That caught him off guard. “Is something wrong?”

“It was just a bad dream, don’t worry about it,” I explained, not wanting to go into detail. I shied away from him, not wanting to meet his gaze any longer.

“Maker’s breath,” I heard him swear. I turned back around, surprised to find his expression sorrowful.

“Cullen?”

“I understand far better than you may think,” he explained, his tone soft and he spoke with an unfamiliar gentleness. “Doing what you do... It’s easy for your mind to twist things when you’re sleeping.”

I remained silent for a moment, waiting for him to say more.

“I heard about what happened at Therinfal,” he continued, his words careful. “I’m surprised I haven’t found you running off more often.”

“I’ve wanted to, believe me,” I said, not caring anymore. “That envy demon… I feel violated. I know that it’s dead, and I know that I’m at least mostly safe here. But it feels like an itch in my brain that I just can’t scratch.”

Cullen nodded, not saying anything as he let me ramble. It felt good to voice my thoughts to someone else. It was comforting in a way I hadn't experienced before.

I looked to him, catching his gaze. "What about you?" I asked. "Why are you awake so late?"

The corners of his lips quirked upwards, but he didn't truly smile. The concern in his eyes shifted into sadness.

"Cullen?"

"Don't worry about me, Lady Trevelyan," he said, the sadness falling away.

I cringed at the sound of the title. "Please don't call me that."

His brows furrowed. "Then...?"

"Just call me Ellie," I told him. "Almost everyone else does and I don't care much for titles."

He seemed uncomfortable by this request, a though the thought of treating me as anything other than a godsend were atrocious.

"I will try," he said finally, a smile working its way back onto his face. "Now, I feel as though we should be heading back."

I nodded in agreement, returning the smile. "Alright." I walked alongside him feeling much more at peace than I had in some time. For once he felt more like a friend than anything else.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading ^_^


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